An excavator operates on a mine under construction in Karratha, Western Australia.

A survey of 11 economists by The Wall Street Journal showed overall business investment will likely be flat in the second quarter from the first quarter. The mining component of investment is expected to be weak.

“We expect a dose of reality to return to the official capital expenditure report,” JPMorgan said in a note to clients, adding that forecasts for investment over the next year should see “a material downgrade.” The survey will be published Thursday.

The slowdown in mining investment is expected to extend over years, not months. With major gas projects set for completion in 2015, the risk is that the fall in resources investment will accelerate with time. Some economists warn of an investment “cliff.”

The Reserve Bank of Australia has indicated its growing concern about the outlook for mining investment. Earlier this month it downgraded its forecast for economic growth based on feedback from mining firms.

The first-quarter investment survey showed firms predicted a robust 10% on-year rise in capital spending in 2013-14. But the RBA has dismissed those assumptions.

“While the expectations component of the capital expenditure survey remains strong, this is inconsistent with information from the Bank’s liaison,” the RBA said. There are fewer new commitments to mining projects and a lack of expenditure on the development and planning work that typically precedes new projects, it said.

“Given this, the expectation is that mining investment will decline somewhat over the next year or so before falling away more noticeably thereafter,” the RBA said.

The RBA also sees little hope the non-mining parts of the economy will ride to the rescue.

“Non-mining investment is expected to remain subdued in the near term. Surveys of firms’ investment intentions and the Bank’s liaison with firms suggest that there will be only modest growth over the next year or so,” it said.

Alan Langford, chief economist for Bankwest, said sectors like manufacturing, tourism and services won’t be strong enough to fill the void, and the future for Australia’s economy is uncertain.

A fall in the Australian dollar could do a lot to transform the country’s economic prospects, Mr. Langford said. Trading around US$0.9000 currently, it remains high relative to its long-term levels and is a headwind to economic growth.

Australia is set for a period of at least year of weak growth, Mr. Langford said.

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